Closure
by Lisbet Adair
Summary: Modern Warfare 3 closed on the end of the war, but what happened to those left behind: their sons, husbands and brothers branded as traitors to their country? This is a fictional news bulletin transcript detailing what I think might happen in the aftermath.


**Closure**

_I wanted to explore a little bit more of the world of Modern Warfare, and because I consider it to be quasi-realistic in terms of the story it tells, I always found myself wondering how our real-world media would deal with the war. This transcript of Reporting Scotland concerns the events that I think might happen after the war is over, whilst Soap and his colleagues are still regarded as traitors. _

TRANSCRIPT OF BBC REPORTING SCOTLAND, FIRST AIRED JUNE 5TH 2020.

[TITLE MUSIC FADES. SHOT OF NEWSREADER SEATED BEHIND DESK ON SET]

NEWSREADER: Welcome to Reporting Scotland, I'm Ian McLeod.

[IMAGE OF CAPTAIN JOHN MACTAVISH APPEARS IN TOP RIGHT CORNER OF SCREEN. TEXT BENEATH READS "LAID TO REST"]

NEWSREADER: The body of exonerated SAS officer Captain John MacTavish was laid to rest today in the regimental cemetery in Hereford, a full three years after the signing of the peace accord that brought an end to the conflict between Russian and the United States of America, widely known as "World War Three". The subsequent joint enquiry by US and British military staff has revealed many uncomfortable truths about the reasons behind the conflict, and severely impacted on relations between the two countries.

[PREVIOUS IMAGE FADES, REPLACED BY FLAGS OF UNITED KINGDOM AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN BACKGROUND BEHIND NEWSREADER]

NEWSREADER: Questions continue to go unanswered, and truths remain uncovered, but there was finally some closure today for the Scottish family who've been fighting for justice. Our reporter in Hereford, Amy Carruthers, reports.

[SHOT OF CLOCK TOWER, CLOSE UP PAN DOWN OF NAMES OF ENGRAVED ON STONE]

VOICEOVER: The names of the fallen, wrought in stone perpetually; however, for the last three years there have been names that have been shrouded in suspicion, accusations and distrust. Finally today, the Ministry of Defence has begun to make amends.

[SHOT OF THREE BLACK HEARSES, QUEUED IN FRONT OF CHURCH. ZOOM AND FOCUS ON COFFIN IN FIRST HEARSE, DRAPED WITH UNION JACK.]

VOICEOVER: Captain John MacTavish, previously branded a traitor to his country, was exonerated by the Wrenhaven Enquiry, along with Lieutenant Simon Riley and Sergeant Gary Sanderson, earlier this month. Today their families and colleagues came to pay their final respects.

[SWITCH TO STATIC IMAGE OF JOHN MACTAVISH, PICTURED IN FATIGUES AND RED BERET OF PARAS]

VOICEOVER: John MacTavish joined the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment at the age of eighteen, serving a tour in Northern Ireland and subsequently promoted to 1st Battalion in Afghanistan. Regarded as an exemplary soldier, in 2011 he attempted and passed the selection procedure to join the Special Air Service, the elite special forces unit where he further distinguished himself, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for a display of courage under fire and rescuing injured colleagues. He was eventually seconded to lead a joint task force, answerable to General Oswald Shepard.

[SWITCH TO IMAGE OF GENERAL SHEPARD]

VOICEOVER: Unbeknown to Captain MacTavish, and revealed by the findings of the Enquiry several weeks ago, Shepard had ulterior motives for the Task Force, colloquially known as the 141, to attempt to glorify his own imperialist policies for his country.

[SWITCH TO PREVIOUSLY RECORDED FOOTAGE FROM WRENHAVEN ENQUIRY. LORD WRENHAVEN SPEAKING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE.]

LORD WRENHAVEN: It has become obvious through our investigation, and thanks to the efforts of on-line activists and whistleblowers within the military of both the United Kingdom and the United States, that the reasons for which the conflict between the United States and Russia were not those declared at the time, but were rather the result of manipulation by fringe groups and elements within both governments to further their own ends. The British Army unwittingly sent soldiers to assist our allies in good faith and who gave their lives believing they were furthering justice. To further pour salt in these wounds, our soldiers were mistakenly accused of high treason against their own government, a mistake that we will be seeing to rectify from this moment on.

[SWITCH TO FOOTAGE OF MP FOR MORAY: DAVID SIMMONS, STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE WRENHAVEN ENQUIRY, BEHIND A PODIUM. HE IS SURROUNDED BY ANGELA MACTAVISH, AMY SANDERSON, ROCHELLE VAN ALLAN, ANDY RILEY AND GLENDA RILEY]

MP DAVID SIMMONS: Angela MacTavish has asked me to speak on her behalf, to thank those who have supported her and the families of the wrongly accused members of General Shepard's Task Force in her fight for justice. It has been a long three years to see her son's name cleared, an event that sadly, his father did not live to see.

[SWITCH TO FOOTAGE INSIDE CHURCH OF FUNERAL SERVICE. CONGREGATION SINGING HYMN "ABIDE WITH ME"]

VOICEOVER (AMY CARRUTHERS): Today in Hereford, the mood is sombre, yet there is a sense that finally there is peace after the long years of war.

[SWITCH TO ANGELA MACTAVISH, SPEAKING TO REPORTER AMY CARRUTHERS, (NOT SEEN)]

ANGELA MACTAVISH: It's been a long fight. I thought I'd be upset today, but I'm just relieved that for us, it's finally over. It's not that I'm not sad, like, because Iain didn't get to be here, didn't get to see his boy get his name cleared, but I know they're together now. And I'm glad for the other two boys, because it's shocking, like, they had families. Gary had a wee lad of his own and it's hard when they don't really know what's going on.

[ANGELA CONTINUES OVER SILENT FOOTAGE OF ANGELA MACTAVISH, EMBRACING AMY SANDERSON AND BENDING TO SPEAK TO JAMES SANDERSON. SHE POINTS TO THE MEDAL PINNED TO HIS CHEST AND TO THE ACTION MAN HE IS HOLDING]

ANGELA MACTAVISH: They've been like rocks, all the families. We've had our moments when we wanted to give up, but we struggled on. We beat them together: to get these boys' names cleared, to get them remembered. That's important to us all.

[SWITCH TO REPORTER AMY CARRUTHERS, IN THE HEREFORD CHURCHYARD, WALKING TOWARDS CAMERA ALONG PATHWAY BETWEEN HEADSTONES]

AMY CARRUTHERS: Questions still remain unanswered by the Wrenhaven enquiry, which continues to sift through the legacy of deceit and lies woven across the world. For these families, and communities, at least there is finally some closure today. Amy Carruthers, Reporting Scotland, Hereford.

[END OF TRANSCRIPT]


End file.
